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My girlfriend and I have gotten into birding recently, I'm really enjoying it. It's a great excuse to get out into the outdoors and really gets you to take in all that's around you. You stop and look for a while and all the creatures that you see, it's amazing. I liked birds before but never really realized just how many there are around doing bird things while you just walk past doing people things. I like watching the bird behavior as much as anything, I saw some Moorhens fighting in the water which was cool, they kick at each other with their enormous feet. Some nesting cormorants in a tree too, the way they greeted each other was cool to watch. The people you meet are usually pretty friendly too, and happy to point out things they've seen. Anyway I thought I'd share this because it was so cool. Bitterns are awesome. x-posting from the making GBS threads birds thread in the dorkroom: Linedance posted:I went birding with my girlfriend yesterday at some old gravel pits converted to wetlands up in Hertfordshire. We saw a few Snipe, which are cool freaky but cute waders with enormous beaks. Normally very hard to spot because of their camouflage, but these guys were relatively easy to spot from the one lookout point.
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Jan 23, 2014 11:50
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Kawalimus posted:Got to see Pink-footed Geese today. WOW!! Now there's a rarity! That one isn't even in most of the books here. That's pretty cool, I saw a snow goose the other day at some ex gravel pits in Surrey. Not supposed to be there, but there none the less. A local mentioned that a few may have escaped captivity and had been seen around, but refugees are welcome in my books.
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Feb 2, 2014 02:06
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InternetJunky posted:What a horrible birding winter. Almost no owls and not much else either. Now that the birds are migrating back it's awesome to get out there and see some variety again! looks like an American Wigeon
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Apr 14, 2014 15:08
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I went to Rainham Marshes RSPB reserve east of London today with my girlfriend, it was a really great day out. At first it was all just the usual suspects, but about halfway around I saw a common tern from one of the hides (the really nice one if you've been), and a weird coloured mallard female, then got into the boardwalk through the reeds and saw a few sedge warblers, instead of just hearing them, and saw a couple of little grebes sitting on nests. The second one had its little chicks out in the water and then they crawled back under mom for warmth  . Then the best bit, we ran into a couple of staffers who'd seen us at the beginning of the trail (it took us nearly 4 hours to do the loop) and they asked us what we'd seen, and once I suppose we'd been deemed worthy, they told us where to go to check out a barn owl in its nest box... we followed their directions and with our scope found the owl's secret little box in a chestnut tree... got to see it preening its breast, and its full face! Pretty cool. The other highlight for me was that there's a bunch of nesting Northern Lapwing there, and I love those things. They'd aggressively chase any crow that came near with their crazy flippy floppy aerobatic flight, and then swoop and dive and flop about back to ground. I could watch those guys flying around all day.I highly recommend it as a place to go birding around London. We drove, but it's fairly accessible by train from central as well (Fenchurch to Purfleet, then about a mile walk).
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Apr 18, 2014 20:19
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ExecuDork posted:I love how sparrows seem to just go crazy when they sing. CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP! all goddam day long. Why don't we ever hear sparrows with laryngitis? It seems like they must suffer from such afflictions, given the level of effort they put into shouting "HEY!" over and over. You're thinking of European house sparrows (which are invasive in North America.) They're cute but kind of annoying and bully other birds. This is a white throated sparrow, it can actually carry a tune! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9AHOXhu1A.
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May 4, 2014 19:15
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Corla Plankun posted:I just saw a new (to me) bird and I've done a little research to try and name it. I have concluded that it was likely a Golden Eagle or a Juvenile Bald Eagle, but both of these species don't stay as far south as Ithaca, NY in the summer according to those links! I think it's too early for golden eagles, and although it could be a baldy, if you didn't get a good look at its head, it could be a turkey vulture. I saw a HUGE bird recently that made me immediately think "eagle" having seen baldies on the west coast, but subsequently turned out to be a turkey vulture (not a bird I'm familiar with, though I've seen a whole bunch very recently so I guess now I am). If it had a lot of pale on its underside and was mahooosive, that would be my first guess (I'm in Toronto so not too far geographically from you).
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Aug 19, 2014 04:25
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I just got back from Point Pelee, Ontario. Holy Crap! I didn't know Blue Jays came in flocks! Safety in numbers I guess, because there were probably at least 50 or 60 Sharp Shinned hawks in the two days we were there, plus a handful of Coopers, Broad Wingeds, Merlins, Kestrels, Northern Harriers, maybe a Peregrine, at least one, possibly two Bald Eagles, and a mess of Turkey Vultures. Raptor migration is wonderfully visible from that spot! Most of the little birds were understandably keeping a low profile, but we did catch a few in the woods. The Monarch butterfly migration was really cool to witness too, it was like being in a butterfly house only outside, in the wild. Highly recommend the trip at some point whether fall or spring migration to anyone in Ontario or around the south side of Lake Erie too.
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Sep 25, 2014 03:43
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ExecuDork posted:Over in the Bird Photography thread, there's been some discussion of interspecies aggression including Coots and Wood Ducks. I was going to post this there but there's no photo and this kind of discussion seems better suited to this thread. I've got very little experience with the American version, but the Eurasian Coots, from what I've seen, will be aggressive towards basically everything with wings. I've watched them chase off gulls twice their size just for standing on the wrong bit of dirt island. Their kick-fights amongst their own kind are pretty funny to watch as well. Less funny, as documented in Life of Birds, is how they attack their own chicks to weed out the weaker ones. e- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIw46rzx1Bc&t=612s Finger Prince fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Oct 29, 2014 |
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Oct 29, 2014 00:29
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I went to Ashbridges Bay in Toronto today with my partner (she's the hardcore birder, I'm more casual). There were the usual assorted Bufflehead (cute as heck ducks), Long Tailed ducks (females look like juggalos), and Mergansers, Scaup, etc. bobbing around on the lake, and some aggressive chickadees landing on us looking for a handout. The main highlights were a mixed flock of redpoll and pine siskin gorging on alder seeds. Oh and a rough legged hawk that flew over just after we arrived! Seems all the arctic species have started to be driven south by the recent weather.
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Nov 21, 2014 23:10
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I'm going to be driving down from Seattle to San Fran starting tomorrow, and was wondering if anyone had some good birding recommendations? We're in no hurry, though we'll likely hit the 5 as far as southern Oregon before picking up the 101 and 1 once in California. Arcata marsh is one place we're planning on hitting, but other than that we're pretty much winging it, with no real itinerary or pressing schedule.
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Nov 29, 2014 07:09
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Kenshin posted:Oh wow, I didn't even know this thread existed. I guess I recognize a lot of the regulars in here from the bird photography thread over in Dorkroom. My partner saw the snowy at Edmonds (I think she saw the same list as you). Got a few photos but it's hard to see if they're any good on the camera LCD. There were lots of people out to see it. She wasn't sure if it was all together all right, it looked like it was panting a lot. There looks like maybe some blood around its mouth? But that may have been from a recent meal. We'll have to check the photos once we're back home at the computer. We made it to Arcata this evening, stopping at Emigrant Lake in Oregon. No golden eagles (though one maybe flew high overhead when we were on the interstate), but we got some good views of a kestrel, a prairie falcon, acorn woodpeckers, and assorted little birds like Western bluebirds, golden crowned sparrows, juncos and probably lesser goldfinches. It's absolutely gorgeous country down there.
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Dec 1, 2014 06:58
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We spent half the day in Arcata Marsh today, what an amazing birding spot! Now I know how Moon Potato gets all his incredible photos! It's definitely worth the drive from wherever you're at. We even saw the white tailed kite! Beautiful bird. Tomorrow we're either going to hit Point Reyes or San Pablo Bay, depending on what the weather is doing.
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Dec 2, 2014 06:18
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Could use some help id'ing this guy: kingbird sp1 by Ruth O Birds, on Flickr We think he's a tropical kingbird, but he's definitely a vagrant if he is. When flycatching off his post, he didn't have the black tail or dark back like a western kingbird, and his tail was quite long. He was seen near one of the ranches on the way to the lighthouse at Point Reyes near San Francisco.
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Dec 3, 2014 07:44
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Kenshin posted:Please help with an ID birding thread, I cannot find this in my Sibley guide but it's probably because I don't know where to look, and neither Merlin Bird ID nor Backyard Bird Finder helped. Have a look at Brewer's / Rusty blackbird. Range is more Brewer's, but colouration is more female Rusty.
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Dec 7, 2014 23:34
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Kenshin posted:The colors just don't seem right for either of those--it has the eyes of the Rusty blackbird but sort of the coloration of a very light Brewer's. I suppose Lek could be correct and it's a hybrid? It's more the eye stripe that makes me think rusty, female brewers can sometimes have a pale eye.
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Dec 8, 2014 00:03
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Kenshin posted:Ok, probably just an extra-light female brewer's blackbird then. Maybe 
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Dec 8, 2014 00:51
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alnilam posted:Hi I really like birds! I've thought about getting into birding casually, but I haven't yet. I think birds are really cool and I hike a lot and birds are one of my fav things about going on hikes, other than trees. Cool, I'm pretty much the same way. I've always loved the outdoors, and plants, trees, and wildlife. My partner is huge into birding and it's rubbed off on me. Birds are really cool, especially when you start paying attention to them. Was your woodpecker huge, dark, and tearing the poo poo out of a tree, with a massive red mohawk? If so, probably a pileated. By the sounds of it though it was more likely a red-bellied woodpecker. Could be a northern flicker, if it was more brown, had a spotty breast, and only a small red dot on the back of its head.
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Dec 16, 2014 03:30
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froward posted:do any of you ever harness your birds and go jogging/biking while the bird flies along, or rides on your shoulder? No, but my friend once found a juvenile crow hiding under a car beset by several cats on the way back from the pub. He picked it up and carried out away to safety. When he let go of it, it hopped onto his shoulder and rode there until he got back to his flat, where he had to take it down and put it by a tree.
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Dec 16, 2014 21:56
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Moon Potato posted:Edit: I saw this guy off the coast near Freshwater Lagoon today as the sunlight was fading. I'm thinking juvenile Surf Scoter or White-winged Scoter, but I'm not finding photos of either that are really a spot-on match. Anyone have a better guess than me? Looks like a female surf scoter to me, though possibly a juvenile. If you lightened the exposure some to bring out any markings around the back of the head and beak, it might make it easier. As it is though, with the head shape and beak shape, plus the white patch on the back and possibly a little white around the base of the beak, I think female surf scoter is closest.
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Jan 3, 2015 17:37
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Any southern Alberta birders care to speculate on what bird I saw based only on rough description? I was going up a chairlift at sunshine village and saw a raven chasing a small grayish raptor around. They landed in a couple of nearby trees while the raven croaked at it. My first impression was some kind of falcon, it was about half the size of the raven. As the chair went past, I got the impression it's head was too broad to be a falcon, and I think I noticed some ear tufts. So some kind of small owl? Mostly grey, slightly paler breast, looked like maybe some dark possibly black marks around the face. Too small to be a male northern harrier.
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Feb 1, 2015 21:33
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BeastOfExmoor posted:The only gray owl with east tufts in that area appears to be Great Horned, but it would be pretty close in size to a Raven. Northern Hawk Owl kinda fits your description, minus the ear tufts, and is proportioned more like a falcon than most owls. They're also active in daylight. Google some photos and see if it looks right? Yup, did a bit of research once I got back and I'm pretty sure it was a Northern Hawk Owl. It explains my initial reaction that it was some kind of falcon when I saw it flying (long, thin tail), and the ear tufts weren't so much ear tufts, as an illusion of them made by the facial patterning/colouring. Having looked at photos and ID tips, I'm almost certain that's what it was. Cool, never expected to see an owl out on a ski hill!
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Feb 3, 2015 22:39
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Rakins posted:I might have missed it but what would be a good pair of binoculars in the 200-300 range to get started? There can/will be arguments as long as a piece of string about this, but Eagle Optics make excellent bins in all price ranges, and in that price range I'd go with their Ranger ED. I have a pair of Shrikes that I got for cheap, and they are decent cheap bins, my partner went through the whole binoculars shopping anxiety thing and ended up with the Ranger EDs. Unless you're doubling your budget, you won't find much better.
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Mar 2, 2015 07:30
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Arriviste posted:I'm only a few pages into this thread, but had to pop in and say: Thats pretty sweet, kestrels are beautiful birds, with all those oranges and blues! They're quite colourful for a raptor. I'm out on the west coast at the moment doing some birding and it's raptor crazy our here. Bald eagles everywhere, harriers, the odd red tailed hawk, we even saw a golden eagle!
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Mar 2, 2015 07:34
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Moon Potato posted:The Palo Alto Baylands should be excellent this time of year. I've been out there a few times, and it's alway full of bird life. Coyote Hills Regional Park over by Fremont looks like a pretty phenomenal hotspot too, but I haven't explored it myself. I'll be checking it out when I visit the Bay Area next month, but I guess that won't be in time to give you a trip report. how do people even find these guys? I've been to a bunch of places where they supposedly are resident and roosting, and have never seen one. Is it a matter of meticulously digging through every pine tree in the whole area and hoping to get lucky? Is there some species of owl whisperer birder that just knows where to look, and once found their location spreads through word of mouth? If it weren't for photographic evidence, I'd be suspicious there even is such a thing as a saw-whet owl.
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Mar 3, 2015 20:56
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On the off chance there's some Aussies about, what sort of bird hot spots are there sort of day trip distance around Brisbane? Would it be worth the effort to fly up to Cairns for a day or two? I'm going next week for about a week.
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Apr 6, 2015 01:44
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Just been in Queensland, Aus for a week and a bit, some around Brisbane's northern suburbs and hinterland, and a few days at O'Reillys rainforest retreat in lamington national park. Holy crap the birds! My partner and I saw pretty near a hundred life birds. What a wonderful place! I highly recommend O'Reillys for both birding and hiking and cool eucalyptus and rain forest. My favourite birds from the trip were the laughing kookaburra, Eastern whipbird, and paradise riflebird. Will spam the photos thread once I get some good ones processed.
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Apr 17, 2015 01:18
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Arriviste posted:Got a mockingbird PUA in my neighborhood that is hitting the nocturnal songs pretty hard lately, as you do, and it's been an interesting repertoire. Every once in a while he works in "car alarm goes like this" and "baby bird goes like this." Just heard him cover a tiny bit of "croaking frog," which is a first for my ears. I used to share an alley with a car lot and my backyard mockingbird at the time would work all the sounds from "Viper car alarm" into his routine. Once, ages ago before I got into birds, I watched a bird (retroactively identified from ancient memory as I think a brown thrasher) doing the "bleep bleep" sound of disabling a car alarm, the backup beeps of a large vehicle, and a little bit of firetruck klaxon. It was hiding in a bush next to a parking lot and firehall and equipment yard at the airport.
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May 19, 2015 08:00
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ExecuDork posted:Years ago I lived in Vancouver, which is full of starlings. Walking up to the bus one morning I heard the call of a Red-Tailed Hawk, coming from the top of a nearby traffic light post. That starling had delusions of grandeur, I think. Ravens make such excellent noises. Especially if you catch one in a tree quietly mumbling to itself.
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May 21, 2015 01:48
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Captain Invictus posted:Hey there bird enthusiasts. Was hoping someone could help me with an inquiry of mine on what bird makes this sound(quote from the Critterquest thread): Have a look at this guy: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Wood-Pewee/sounds Their song sounds like what you describe, and I can see how it could be a favourite.
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Jun 19, 2015 22:14
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stubblyhead posted:Hello bird thread! I'm pretty sure I found some owl pellets in by backyard yesterday Keep an eye out for "white wash" on nearby trees or foliage (where they poop). That's usually a good candidate for a roost. They can be super hard to see in a tree unless they're big and and there aren't too many Edit trees=leaves Finger Prince fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Jul 7, 2015 |
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Jul 6, 2015 21:43
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Kenshin posted:I don't think cliff swallows make nests like that, do they? Huh. I used Merlin earlier and couldn't come up with anything either. From Sibley's: quote:nests mostly on manmade structures such as under bridges or house eaves...Nest a gourd-shaped mud cone with small entrance hole Although it says it nests in tightly packed clusters in large colonies, large colonies have to start somewhere! I think it's cliff swallows, based on the description.
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Jul 17, 2015 15:14
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I crossed two birding goals of my bucket list yesterday morning. While seawatching in Puget Sound I spotted an odd bird flying away from me about a mile away. Another birder and I followed it in our scopes for about 40 minutes before it finally came close enough to confirm my suspicions. Brown Booby! Not only a first county record for my home county, but also the first bird I've ever found that's a review species for my home state (10th WA record, if accepted). Cool! My partner just looked it up, apparently it was spotted later hitching a lift on a boat down to Edmonds waterfront. Great spot for birds there, that's where she saw the snowy owl last year. Need to get out west again soon!
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Aug 23, 2015 03:13
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ExecuDork posted:Does anyone have any experience looking for southward-bound migrants in southern or southwestern Ontario in autumn? Definitely go to Point Pelee. We went around the same time last year, there were shitloads of raptors making their way down. Little woodland birds were a little sparse, they were mostly gone already or just laying low. Leamington is a nice town too and there's good accommodation around. There is a bird festival some time around then I believe, so during that time the accommodation will be pretty booked solid, but the rest of the time should be fine. You should also catch the monarch butterfly migration, it's pretty amazing. They all stage at the point before crossing.
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Sep 1, 2015 03:01
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Looks like I'm going down to Texas in a couple of days, for a couple of days. The plan, such as it is, is to head down the gulf coast from Houston, taking in the coast and Rio grande valley possibly. I know less than nothing about the area. Any tips?
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Sep 1, 2015 03:05
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ExecuDork posted:Thanks! I have family in Leamington, looks like I have an excuse to both get down there and get away from the awkward stories at the same time. We were there at the end of September and the trees were still pretty heavy with them at the point. Not sure how late they hang around though. I guess don't leave it too late.
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Sep 1, 2015 05:24
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Welp, change of plans. Going to Vancouver instead. Probably check out reifel, Iona, Boundary Bay again, or might head up the sunshine Coast for a day. Will do Texas in the winter. Better birds, better weather!
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Sep 2, 2015 22:47
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My partner found four golden crowned kinglets entangled in burrs (from invasive burdock) the other day. 3 on one cluster, one already dead. She couldn't free them up because they're so tiny so she took them to the humane society who thankfully were able to help. They freed the two, but one seemed to have a broken wing. She was going to take them to the wildlife rescue center, but they operate on an on-call triage basis and were at the other end of the city. She decided since they were freaking out in the box they were in to let them go back in the park. The liveliest one flew right out and called back to its companion, who hopped onto the edge of the box before flying to the bush. I guess its wing wasn't that bad. Anyway, it's better off there where it can forage and hopefully heal up. She then found another, its face all mashed against its wing/shoulder with a burr. This one was too entangled to attempt anything with so she brought it home and we were going to bring it to the wildlife center in the morning. Sadly it didn't make it. It must have really hurt itself trying to free itself from the burr. Some other people found a magnolia warbler and a winter wren in a similar situation. I think the high winds might have driven the little birds to forage in the low lying burdock and that's what hosed them up. gently caress burrs!
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Oct 4, 2015 15:12
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neckbeard posted:I saw a magpie with no tail feathers today, it was an odd sight. It probably had a run in with a cat.
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Oct 4, 2015 21:46
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I always seem to see good birds when I go out snowboarding. Last year I saw a northern hawk owl getting harassed by a couple of crows at sunshine village while going up the lift, and last week at kicking horse I flushed a white tailed ptarmigan after I tripped up on a tree root.
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Dec 26, 2015 15:10
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EVG posted:Sorry if this isn't the correct thread, but is there a place I can pick peoples brains about birdseed? I'm an amateur bird feeder and haven't managed to settle on a good bird seed / feeder combo for the birds I'd ideally like to see. I live in Chicago in a 6th floor condo with a Juliet balcony (opens on one side only with a foot wide ledge) and have out a couple different feeder types. Pure black sunflower seed, in shell if you don't mind the mess, or shelled is a good start and junk birds aren't as fond of it. It's full of fats that birds need in winter. In spring you can add little buggy suet bits for protein, but they can gum up your feeder a bit. I've heard that hanging monofilament in front of the feeder deters house sparrows but the other birds don't pay it any mind.
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Jan 3, 2016 19:47
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